2003 S 4.6l Auto Silver on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar may join the FWD, small-car parade

Was it right for Chevrolet to detune the 1975 Corvette's base engine to 165 horsepower? Was Aston Martin wrong to make the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet? Is BMW crazy to be testing the new 1 Series with three-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive? It seems now, just as in the 1970s and 1980s, that emissions regulations and social considerations are driving some automakers to adopt unbefitting practices to maintain acceptance in the eyes of governments and consumers. Jaguar has jumped on the bandwagon, and is considering development of small, frugal, front-wheel-drive cars to help lower Jaguar Land Rover's average vehicle CO2 levels in light of tightening European emissions regulations, Autocar reports.
By 2020, the European Union expects the model range of every manufacturer to average 95 grams per kilometer, which is a new law passed by the European Parliament in April. Manufacturers who make more than 300,000 vehicles per year must meet these targets, and JLR is expected to be producing up to 700,000 vehicles per year by then. CO2 regulations after 2020 will only get stricter, as EU politicians already are talking about lowering CO2 levels to between 68 g/km and 78 g/km. (To put that in perspective, Autocar posits that driving a fully charged electric vehicle in Europe produces about 75 g/km when factoring in the power-generation infrastructure.)
Jaguar has some choices here, but so far they all have drawbacks. It could develop a new, compact chassis architecture for a line of compact vehicles, but the investment required for such a project could be prohibitively expensive. Jaguar has been looking into using the Land Rover Evoque platform for a small SUV, Autocar reports, but Land Rover brand manager John Edwards raises issue with such a plan, saying it may not be financially feasible.

Jaguar Land Rover opening its first U.S.-based classic center in Georgia

Jaguar Land Rover Classic currently operates two of its Works Centres, one in Coventry, England and the other in Essen-Kettwig, Germany (pictured). Just in time for Pebble Beach, the English carmaker has announced that it will bring its first facility to the United States next year, having signed a deal to open the latest Works operation in Savannah, Georgia. To be located in the Crossroads Business Park near Gulfstream Aerospace, the facility will engage in the sales, service, and restoration of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles out of production for at least ten years. The 150,000-square-foot Coventry site opened two years ago and is said to be the largest dedicated factory workshop of its kind (the largest unaffiliated shop is in the Philippines). Jaguar builds its continuation cars there, like the D-Type and XKSS, while Land Rover uses it to build the Defender Works V8. Shoppers can also buy vintage models off the showroom floor, a variation of the Certified Pre-Owned program called Works Legends, that come with a 12-month warranty. Or, Jaguar Land Rover will locate, restore, and maintain one of the classic company products that a buyer chooses. In the UK, a Land Rover Series 1 starts at around $90,000, a Jaguar E-Type starts at around $400,000. The 48,000 Essen-Kettwig center opened last year with the same brief, and the U.S. center can provide those services to the world's largest classic car market. Construction on the 75,000-square-foot complex is scheduled to begin next August, and the facility will include a 42-bay workshop and showroom. The automaker will invest from $10 to $15 million, and predicts more than $45 million in revenue. Savannah Economic Development Authority President and CEO Trip Tollison told The Savannah Morning News that JLR will hire 75 workers at a starting salary of $80,000. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut output and jobs due to Brexit, diesel slump

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will cut around 1,000 jobs and production at two of its English factories due to a fall in sales caused by uncertainty around Brexit and confusion over diesel policy, a source told Reuters. Output will be cut at its central English Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants, affecting some 1,000 agency workers, the source said. A spokesman at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) declined to comment on the number of jobs which would be lost but the firm said it would be making changes to its output plans. "In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff," the company said in a statement. It is not renewing the contracts of a number of agency staff at the Solihull site and would be informing staff on Monday of its plans for the 2018-19 financial year. In January, the firm said it would temporarily reduce production at its other British plant of Halewood later this year in response to weakening demand due to Brexit and tax hikes on diesel cars but did not detail any job losses. Jaguar sales are down 26 percent so far this year whilst Land Rover demand dropped 20 percent in its home market as buyers shun diesel, concerned over planned tax rises and possible bans and restrictions in several countries. "It's been obvious to everyone that sales have been dropping," the source said. British new car registrations have been falling for a year which the car industry body has partly blamed on weakening consumer confidence in the wake of the Brexit vote, after record demand in 2015 and 2016. Reporting by Costas Pitas. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover Diesel Vehicles Luxury sales jaguar land rover jobs brexit